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The comprehensive guide to the world's leading tax firms

The tax team at Deloitte contains many practitioners who are highly rated by their peers in the market. The firm provides a full range of tax services to multinationals and Portuguese companies, but indirect tax stands out as a particularly strong area ... [more]

The tax team at Deloitte contains many practitioners who are highly rated by their peers in the market. The firm provides a full range of tax services to multinationals and Portuguese companies, but indirect tax stands out as a particularly strong area for the firm. Both António Beja Neves and Afonso Arnaldo are recommended for their indirect tax work. Competitors regard Neves as the leading figure in indirect tax in Portugal and comment that he is a highly skilled practitioner. The firm handles a range of corporate and cross-border structuring work for its clients in Portugal and in these areas Luís Belo and Carlos Loureiro respectively are very well regarded. Though capital markets work has been less common than in previous years, Deloitte's team has still been visible in that arena. Cláudia Bernardo and Miguel Rocha are praised for their ability and approach to the tax issues involved in financial products and the financial services sector generally.

KPMG's Portuguese tax practice has been investing in the firm's capabilities in Angola as investment there from Portugal and from North and South America and Asia via Portugal develops. The practice is led by Luìs Magalhães and covers a full range of ... [more]

KPMG's Portuguese tax practice has been investing in the firm's capabilities in Angola as investment there from Portugal and from North and South America and Asia via Portugal develops. The practice is led by Luìs Magalhães and covers a full range of tax issues for clients. As in previous years, indirect tax and VAT are strong practice areas for the firm. Like other firms in Portugal, the firm's transfer pricing service line has also been in demand.

Morais Leitão Galvão Teles Soares da Silva & Associados has tax departments in Lisbon, led by Francisco de Sousa da Câmara, and Oporto, led by António Lobo Xavier. Câmara is thought of as one of the most skilled practitioners in Portugal by peers. One ... [more]

Morais Leitão Galvão Teles Soares da Silva & Associados has tax departments in Lisbon, led by Francisco de Sousa da Câmara, and Oporto, led by António Lobo Xavier. Câmara is thought of as one of the most skilled practitioners in Portugal by peers. One noted that he has been highly rated in the Portuguese tax market for several years now. "He's been practising for a long time, he is really quite experienced and is well regarded by his peers, me included," he says. Competitors recommend Câmara for M&A, cross border structuring and tax controversy matters. The firm's tax department includes 18 other fee earners in addition to the department heads who are partners. As for many other firms in Portugal this year, litigation has been a fruitful area for the practice. With tax authorities focussed on transfer pricing it is expected that the firm's tax controversy practice will remain busy in the coming year.

PLMJ tax department head Rogério Fernandes Ferreira is a former secretary of state for tax and is said by competitors to be a "very good tax practitioner, a complete lawyer and a really good professional" with ability across a wide range of tax issues. ... [more]

PLMJ tax department head Rogério Fernandes Ferreira is a former secretary of state for tax and is said by competitors to be a "very good tax practitioner, a complete lawyer and a really good professional" with ability across a wide range of tax issues. Other professionals at the firm are also well regarded by their contemporaries. João Magalhães Ramalho is respected for his work in both M&A and cross-border structuring and restructuring featured frequently in the firm's work this year. The firm's tax department consists of three partners and 11 fee earners and has been active in tax controversy this year too. They represented Somague Engenharia in their case against the Portuguese tax authorities concerning the time bar on corporate income tax debts. They successfully defended the client's position and ensured they did not need to pay additional sums to the authorities. The firm's work for Citigroup involved a review of the tax issues arising from equity transactions between Citigroup and Portuguese and international counterparties to ensure efficient tax compliance. The firm's clients include several multinational companies such as Portugal Telecom and Somague Engenharia, as well as major Portuguese companies such as Zon TV Cabo. The firm has experienced an increase in work related to Portuguese investment in regions of Africa, such as Angola, and has been retained by a number of international investors there too. PLMJ has established an agreement with Chinese law firm Dacheng to assist their Chinese clients investing in Angola and several practitioners have commented that they are seeing an increase in Asian investment directly in the region and via Portugal.

Miguel Teixeira de Abreu is a founding partner of Abreu Advogados and is the head of the firm's tax practice. Abreu is regarded as an authority on transfer pricing in Portugal as one of his peers explains: "He was possibly the first person to handle ... [more]

Miguel Teixeira de Abreu is a founding partner of Abreu Advogados and is the head of the firm's tax practice. Abreu is regarded as an authority on transfer pricing in Portugal as one of his peers explains: "He was possibly the first person to handle transfer pricing in the late 1980s so he has an awful lot of experienced and is recognised as a market leader." The firm's capability is not limited to transfer pricing, though and its services include M&A, international tax and structuring and tax controversy. Competitors note that the firm has been more visible in corporate tax work and cross-border structuring than in previous years, something which is impressive considering the challenging market conditions.

Cuatrecasas Gonçalves Pereira's tax department is led by Diogo Ortigão Ramos, who is supported by 14 fee earners. The firm has advised both multinationals and major Portuguese companies this year and their clients include GE Capital, Enel/Finerges, Cork ... [more]

Cuatrecasas Gonçalves Pereira's tax department is led by Diogo Ortigão Ramos, who is supported by 14 fee earners. The firm has advised both multinationals and major Portuguese companies this year and their clients include GE Capital, Enel/Finerges, Cork Supply Group and Logoplaste. The firm provides a wide variety of tax services to its clients, but has experienced a particular surge in demand from clients for tax controversy advice and cross-border structuring to streamline their tax affairs. A highlight of such work was the reorganisation of the holdings and activities of Petróleos de Venezuela Euorpa across the EU, which was coordinated by the firm's Portuguese office. This involved close scrutiny of existing and proposed group structures to ensure beneficial tax treatment and required attention to transfer pricing because of intra-group transfers involved in the restructuring. The project was completed by Ana Helena Farinha working with Ramos, who competitors rate for his ability in such cross-border structuring matters. The firm also completed a restructuring for Logoplaste. This entailed reorganising the shareholdings of the group through a share-for-share exchange and the de-merger of its Luxembourg holding company. The project covered 18 different countries and required close attention to the tax impact of the de-merger in each jurisdiction.

Ernst & Young has more than 20 fee earners in Portugal with five partners completing the team led by João Sousa. Sousa is well regarded by his contemporaries and admired for his ability to provide solutions tailored to clients commercial needs. "He is ... [more]

Ernst & Young has more than 20 fee earners in Portugal with five partners completing the team led by João Sousa. Sousa is well regarded by his contemporaries and admired for his ability to provide solutions tailored to clients commercial needs. "He is quite competent, clear and pragmatic in his approach and knows how to create value for the client," said one competitor. This year, the team has been bolstered by the addition of former secretary of state for tax Carlos Lobo which equips the firm with good links to the tax authorities. The team offers a full range of corporate tax services and has been especially active in restructuring, VAT and transfer pricing in Portugal in the past year. While its clients include companies from a broad range of industry sectors, the firm considers heavy industry, consumer products and manufacturing to be areas of particular expertise. The firm has started organising conferences to keep clients up to date with the most recent developments in tax. The inaugural conference in May 2011 concerned the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base and the proposals under consideration by the European Commission. Both former and current members of the Portuguese government participated in the conference alongside tax advisers from Ernst & Young. Many advisers at the firm are noted by their peers for both their visibility in the market and their skill. In transfer pricing Paulo Mendonça is commonly cited as one of the leaders in that field in Portugal. António Neves is respected by his competitors in several areas of tax, but is most frequently recommended for his work in corporate tax and cross-border structuring.

Garrigues - Taxand's team of three partners and 29 fee earners is divided between the firm's offices in Lisbon and Oporto. The firm offers a complete range of tax services to both Portuguese and international clients under department head Fernando Castro ... [more]

Garrigues - Taxand's team of three partners and 29 fee earners is divided between the firm's offices in Lisbon and Oporto. The firm offers a complete range of tax services to both Portuguese and international clients under department head Fernando Castro Silva, who is highly recommended by competitors for his ability in corporate tax. The firm has acted on behalf of major clients in Portugal including Portugal Telecom, Petróleos de Venezuela Europa and Iberdrola Group. Their work in advising Portugal Telecom on the $9.7 billion sale of its 50% stake in their Brazilian joint venture company Brasilcel to Spanish company Telefonica involved complex cross-border restructuring to ensure the sale obtained the most favourable tax treatment possible. The deal was one of the largest M & A deals in the world last year. Before Paolo Nuncio joined the government as secretary of state for tax in August 2011, he led the team responsible for the complex issues posed by Dutch company PDV Europa's disposal of their stake in German refinery company Ruhr Oel to Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft. This was the first instance of a company with its statutory seat outside Portugal benefitting from tax treatment normally applicable to Portuguese companies as a result of its being resident in Portugal for tax purposes. This involved close liaison with the tax authorities to obtain a binding ruling that may set a precedent for similar transactions in future. Such high level work means the firm is respected by competitors, though some comment that the firm is not as strong in Portugal as in Spain.

Jamie Esteves leads the Portuguese tax practice of PwC. The firm has expanded its tax practice despite the departure of 18 fee earners, as they have this year recruited 21 professionals. This brings the total number of fee earners to 148 working under ... [more]

Jamie Esteves leads the Portuguese tax practice of PwC. The firm has expanded its tax practice despite the departure of 18 fee earners, as they have this year recruited 21 professionals. This brings the total number of fee earners to 148 working under five partners in the department. The new fee earners have mostly been added to the firm's indirect tax and restructuring service lines since these have been busy areas for the firm recently and are expected to remain fruitful in the coming year. The tax practice advises on a full range of tax issues for clients active in Portugal, including Commerzbank, Petrobas, The Fladgate Partnership, Siemens and Unicer. The firm this year advised Portuguese company MSF – Engenharia on restructuring their African operations to facilitate investment in other parts of that continent. It advised the company on the tax implications of investments planned in Senegal, Mozambique and Libya and provided opinions on the most tax efficient structure to implement. The firm also assisted Grupo Caixa de Crédito Agrícola with its transfer pricing affairs, ensuring they complied with documentation requirements and analysing intra-group transfers between eight of the group's subsidiaries. The firm has a good reputation for such transfer pricing work and it is an area where Leendert Vershoor is identified by peers for his ability.

Filipe Romão is the sole partner in Uría Menéndez's nine-lawyer tax department which is divided between Lisbon and Oporto. His experience in international M&A and real estate in particular has attracted a host of well known companies to the firm for ... [more]

Filipe Romão is the sole partner in Uría Menéndez's nine-lawyer tax department which is divided between Lisbon and Oporto. His experience in international M&A and real estate in particular has attracted a host of well known companies to the firm for advice such as Merrill Lynch, Banco Atlântico Europa, Unilabs Group and Saint-Gobain Group. Kodak sought Uria Menendez's services this year to assist in a restructuring of its operations in Portugal. Romão and senior associate António Castro Caldas coordinated the process of restructuring of both Portuguese and foreign companies to ensure favourable tax treatment for the Kodak group. Romão is respected by his contemporaries for his ability in cross-border structuring and is said to be among the best advisers in Portugal for such matters. The firm has capability in a full range of tax issues including M&A, transfer pricing, indirect taxes, restructuring and tax ctonrvoersy. While its reputation was built around its international M&A and real estate work, other areas have provided much work for the firm this year. Indirect taxes were the core issue in the advice provided to Unilabs in their dispute with the tax authorities. Unilabs is challenging the interpretation of the authorities of the rules waiving the VAT exemption on health services. Since the case centres on differing interpretations of the European Commission's VAT Directive, it is expected to be referrred to the European Court of Justice.

Tiago Marreiros Moreira leads the tax department of Vieira de Almeida & Associados and is responsible for a team of 12 fee earners. The firm has added two associates as well as Inês Moreira from the Bank of Portugal this year. The firm is capable across ... [more]

Tiago Marreiros Moreira leads the tax department of Vieira de Almeida & Associados and is responsible for a team of 12 fee earners. The firm has added two associates as well as Inês Moreira from the Bank of Portugal this year. The firm is capable across all areas of tax, but has particular strength in depth in transfer pricing and indirect tax. The firm has been involved in a number of restructuring deals this year like many other leading firms in Portugal. The standout example for the firm was the restructuring of Brisa, the largest motorway operator in Portugal. The company's operations were divided between its wholly owned subsidiaries while all of its assets, liabilities and debts were transferred into a special-purpose ring fenced company. Brisa had enjoyed special tax treatment under a number of agreements with the Portuguese government. Joaquim Pedro Lampreia and Moreira coordinated the team to ensure that each of the new subsidiaries had the benefit of the relevant special treatments originally granted to Brisa. This required close liaison with both the government and the tax authorities.. They have also acted on some of the few M&A transactions that occurred in the Portuguese market in the last 12 months. They advised Banco Português de Negócios, which was privatised by the Portuguese government in 2008, on its sale to French bank Banque BCP. The cross-border element was just one matter for the firm to consider in minimising the seller's tax liability.

Espanha e Associados has a tax team which is capable in several areas of tax. The head of the tax department is Elsa Rodrigues who is assisted by one other partner and four fee earners. The firm has several high profile clients, particularly in financial ... [more]

Espanha e Associados has a tax team which is capable in several areas of tax. The head of the tax department is Elsa Rodrigues who is assisted by one other partner and four fee earners. The firm has several high profile clients, particularly in financial services, which include BNP Paribas, Portugália, Bâloise Vie Luxembourg, CARDFI and Popular Seguros. Restructuring has been a busy area for the firm this year. The standout example was the restructuring of a Portuguese media group which included the companies Big Picture Audiovisuais, Dreamquest and SGPS. A major part of the restructuring involved share-for-share exchanges to create the most efficient group structure for tax purposes. The firm also assisted Banco Espírito Santo Investimento in conducting a tax audit of a company it was considering investing in as well as acting for HP Health Clubs Iberia on a de-merger to enhance tax efficiency this year.

Linklaters' Portuguese practice is lead by Rui Camacho, with just one other fee earner making up the department. Their work has a strong transactional focus, though they have also undertaken some restructuring work this year. As such, it is no surprise ... [more]

Linklaters' Portuguese practice is lead by Rui Camacho, with just one other fee earner making up the department. Their work has a strong transactional focus, though they have also undertaken some restructuring work this year. As such, it is no surprise that many of its clients are in the financial sector and include Citibank, Credit Suisse, ECS- Sociedade de Capital de Risco and Cetelem. Highlights of their work include advising on the creation of Banco BNP Paribas Personal Finance in Portugal and the tax implications for the BNP Paribas group. This was a complex transaction due to the extent and sophistication of BNP Paribas' group structure after its subsidiary Cetelem's acquisition of Cofinoga. One of Portugal's major consumer credit providers, Credifin, was part of Cofinoga's group. Linklaters had to conduct an intra-group merger after the acquisition to ensure the group's consumer credit operations were offered via a single company, the newly created Banco BNP Paribas Personal Finance, in a tax efficient structure.

Rui Barreira Magalhães Correia Teresa Carregueiro & Gorjão Henriques is a tax boutique led by Rui Barreira who is a very well known practitioner in Portugal. His peers observe that he is a very capable tax adviser and recommend his tax controversy work. ... [more]

Rui Barreira Magalhães Correia Teresa Carregueiro & Gorjão Henriques is a tax boutique led by Rui Barreira who is a very well known practitioner in Portugal. His peers observe that he is a very capable tax adviser and recommend his tax controversy work. A contemporary says that: , "While he doesn't have the backing a big firm, he's a very good individual. He is a boutique man with very specific expertise." A significant portion of the work done by the firm is generated by a Portuguese bank, leading some rivals to note that the firm is not particularly visible in the tax advisory market generally.

Abreu & Marques e Associados has particular strength in tax contorversy matters, though it does offer clients a range of tax advisory services. Manuel Faustino is a tax consultant who also leads the firm's department and was formerly a tax lawyer with ... [more]

Abreu & Marques e Associados has particular strength in tax contorversy matters, though it does offer clients a range of tax advisory services. Manuel Faustino is a tax consultant who also leads the firm's department and was formerly a tax lawyer with the Bank of Portugal. Cidalia Conceicao is a formerPC tax advisor who specialises in tax litigation matters. The firm's team consists of an additonal two fee earners and one partner, Alfonso Barroso, who has particular expertise in transactional tax matters.

Former Deloitte partner Ruio Guedes Henriques is the sole tax partner of Baker Tilly Portugal. The tax department is in only its second year of activity in Portugal, but provides clients with a wide range of tax services. Henriques focuses on corporate ... [more]

F Castelo Branco & Associados' tax department is led by Diogo Bernardo Montiero, who is the sole partner in the department. The firm has strong M&A and dispute resolution practices and it has corresponding strength in transactional tax matters and tax ... [more]

F Castelo Branco & Associados' tax department is led by Diogo Bernardo Montiero, who is the sole partner in the department. The firm has strong M&A and dispute resolution practices and it has corresponding strength in transactional tax matters and tax controversy as a result. It is also capable in transfer pricing, corporate structuring and restructuring work and indirect tax.

Franco Caiado Guerreiro & Associados has a tax department which provides clients with tax advice in M&A, international tax and cross-border structuring. It highlights the IT sector as an area that in which he has particular experience and expertise. ... [more]

Franco Caiado Guerreiro & Associados has a tax department which provides clients with tax advice in M&A, international tax and cross-border structuring. It highlights the IT sector as an area that in which he has particular experience and expertise. The firm's clients include financial sector companies, pharmaceuticals companies and major retailers such as Anacap Financial Partners, Meda Pharma, Induyco Industrias y Confecciones and Enersistems. This year the firm has advised Labco Group on its refinancing, which was funded by a combination of a secured high-yield bond offer and a revolving credit facility. Practice leader Tiago Caiado Guerreiro commented that this transaction was complicated by the absence of any clear regulations on the tax treatment of such refinancing work, which required the firm to liaise with the authorities to obtain clearance for the tax status of the operations.

The tax team of Galhardo Vilão Torres is led by former PLMJ senior tax partner Manuel Anselmo Torres, who competitors recommend for his corporate tax advice. Despite their small size, the firm and Torres are well regarded. "They're a boutique tax law ... [more]

The tax team of Galhardo Vilão Torres is led by former PLMJ senior tax partner Manuel Anselmo Torres, who competitors recommend for his corporate tax advice. Despite their small size, the firm and Torres are well regarded. "They're a boutique tax law firm, but Torres is one of the very best tax lawyers in Portugal and that's unanimous. He is a star tax lawyer," says a fellow adviser. The firm focuses on financial transactions and tax and as such the firm has significant experience in transactional tax matters. The department's capabilities are not limited to such matters, however, and it provides services to clients in international tax issues, cross-border structuring and indirect tax in addition to transactional tax and capital markets.

MGRA's tax department works closely with the firm's other groups to provide tax services to clients. The firm has strong corporate and real estate departments and as such tax work in M&A, corporate structuring and real estate tax is frequent for the ... [more]

MGRA's tax department works closely with the firm's other groups to provide tax services to clients. The firm has strong corporate and real estate departments and as such tax work in M&A, corporate structuring and real estate tax is frequent for the firm. It also has particular ability in tax controversy matters and emphasises its commitments to defending clients' rights from investigation by the tax authorities right through to litigating in the European Court of Justice.

Ricardo da Palma Borges & Associados is a niche tax firm consisting of six fee earners supporting the only partner and department head Ricardo da Palma Borges, who is a well respected tax practitioner in a number of areas, though he is particularly widely ... [more]

Ricardo da Palma Borges & Associados is a niche tax firm consisting of six fee earners supporting the only partner and department head Ricardo da Palma Borges, who is a well respected tax practitioner in a number of areas, though he is particularly widely noted by peers for his ability in cross-border structuring. One contemporary said that several firms have sought his services, but that he prefers to work on particularly complicated matters rather than those that larger firms often have to deal with. "He has been offered partnerships at many, many firms but prefers to do just what he pleases, rather than the ordinary business all practices must sometimes do," they said. The firm's clients include several PSI-20 listed companies, large Portuguese private companies and international real estate investment funds. Work this year has included advising a private industrial company on converting its Spanish operations from a distributor structure to that of a commissionaire. This required an analysis of transfer pricing as assets were transferred in the restructuring. The firm had to ensure that no permanent establishment was created in Spain and obtain rulings from the Portuguese and Spanish tax authorities to ensure a compliant, tax efficient structure could be implemented.